US Air Force nuke commander fired after drunken Moscow binge

United States Air Force Major General Michael Carey.(Reuters / U.S. Air Force) / Reuters

The US Air Force has published its investigation into a general who was fired months after a disastrous trip abroad, most of which he was found to have spent drunk and upset while in the arms of two foreign women considered by some to be a security risk.

Major General Michael Carey oversaw 450 nuclear-armed
intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) before he was
dismissed in October for personal misconduct during a four-day
trip to Moscow in July. While in Russia, Carey “acted in a
manner that exceeded the limits of accepted standards of good
conduct,” according to a partly redacted 44 page Air Force
inspector general report made public Thursday after a Freedom of
Information Act request.

Carey’s trip was meant to be a nuclear security exercise but
according to documents quickly went off the rails when he began
drinking during a layover in Zurich, Switzerland which seemed to
turn the following three days of a professional trip into a
bender.

One witness stated that “Maj Gen Carey was visibly agitated
about the long delay at Zurich, he appeared drunk and, in the
public area, talked loudly about the importance of his position
as commander of the only operational nuclear force in the world
and that he saves the world from war every day.”

Carey and a colleague met two “hot women,” in Carey’s
words, at the rooftop bar of Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton hotel. The
pair reportedly told Carey they worked in the travel business but
did not make it clear whether they were Russian or British.

Carey then arranged a meeting with the women, who likely
presented a security situation, for the following night, taking
members of his staff to a restaurant with the knowledge that the
pair would be there.

“Lt Col [REDACTED] also recalled the two women’s arrival that
that Maj Gen Carey got up went to the table with the two women,
‘then two young ladies came in and said hello to everybody at the
table…which surprised me. And then the General and the translator
went over and sat with them.’”

Carey danced with one of the women at the restaurant, which was
called La Cantina, before she kissed him on the cheek.

“While at La Cantina, witnesses stated that Maj Gen Carey had
alcohol and kept trying to get the band to let him play with
them…According to Mr. [REDACTED], the band did not allow Maj Gen
Carey to play with them,” the report stated.

Observers have noted that the two women, either as a result of
their encounter with Carey or because they were prepared to meet
him, were likely aware of Carey’s stature in the Air Force. The
general admitted as much during an interview with investigators.

“It just seemed kind of peculiar that we saw them one night
and then saw them again later while we were there,” he said
later. “For people who are in business to be kind of
conveniently in the same place where we’re at, it seemed odd to
me.”

Later, at an official banquet, the general “stated that he
only had about half a dozen shots of 8 ounces and sipped on some
toasts and finished his glass on others. He also stated that he
didn’t remember the particulars of any of his toasts other than
them being about camaraderie.”

Carey admitted to an encounter with “a tobacco store lady
talking about physics in the wee hours of the morning,” and
was accused of being rude to those Russians assisting him
throughout the trip.

“The IO found that Maj Gen Carey was frequently rude to both
his fellow delegates and to his Russian hosts during the exercise
and briefings…In particular, the IO noted the Russian reaction to
Maj Gen Carey’s comments about Syria and Eric Snowden. (Ex
22:25-26) He was similarly rude to his fellow US delegates on the
walk to Red Square, when he was unable to keep up, pouted and
sulked, and then complained repeatedly about the exercise
itself.”

Following the Moscow incidents, the Air Force issued Carey a
“letter of counseling” and removed him from his
position, making him the special assistant to the commander of
the Air Force’s Space Command instead. Carey retained his Maj Gen
rank and will not face any other discipline, the Air Force has
said.

“This was an unfortunate incident,” General William
Shelton, chief of Air Force Space Command, told the Washington
Post. “Major General Carey has otherwise served the nation
extremely well.”

Others were less generous in their assessment of the General’s
behavior. A female official whose name was redacted from the
report told investigators she “realized that this was putting
us all at risk, especially Russia and women, and I just wanted
nothing to do with that.”